Research for My Digipak - The Killers

Research For My Digipak

In my digipak I plan to include elements of the Indie genre that will conform and also appeal to my target audience - for example, many album covers and digipaks in the Indie genre are kept simple; this gives off the impression that the band is focused on the quality of music, and wants the audience to focus on the music too. Like I mentioned in another blog, using an iconic album cover style from a previous band as inspiration can also work in your favour, as the audience is automatically attracted to your digipak. Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" album artwork is considered one of the greatest of all time, so this simple approach could be used as inspiration for my digipak. However, this could backfire - the audience could feel that you are trying to imitate a successful band, rather than creating your own band image and identity. 

Pink Floyd's iconic album artwork for their album, "The Dark Side of the Moon"

For my digipak research, I have chosen to look at some digipaks that the famous Indie-rock band The Killers have released. I have chosen to research this particular band because they are very successful, creating a recognisable band image and identity, and also because they are in the same genre as my chosen band, so I could take inspiration from some of their digipaks.

The Killers

The Killers are an Indie-rock band formed in Las Vegas, 2001 by Brandon Flowers (Lead vocalist and keyboard) and Dave Keuning (backing vocals and guitar). Mark Stoermer (bass and backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion and backing vocals) would join in 2002, forming the current lineup of the popular band. They have released four albums, "Hot Fuss" in 2004, "Sam's Town" in 2006, "Day & Age" in 2008, and most recently "Battle Born" in 2012.

Front Cover of "Hot Fuss", The Killers debut album

This is the front part of the album cover for "Hot Fuss", released in 2004 by The Killers. The band logo is situated in the middle of the cover in a white, unique font - straight away this grabs the audience's attention, as the band logo would not have been seen by audiences before its release, therefore creating a band identity from their debut album cover. The Arctic Monkeys' debut album created a similar band identity with the unique font of the band's name. The name of the album is then placed beneath "The Killers" in a contrasting plain red font. The red contrasts against the sky blue background - seen at the bottom of the cover are tall buildings. The camera angle of the photo makes the audience look up at the sky - this could signify the rise in which The Killers have undergone since penetrating the mainstream market, or it could symbolise that "the sky is the limit" for the band. The use of buildings, which looks like a block of flats, in this photos could also be telling the audience that anyone can do what The Killers have done, once again conforming to the Indie-genre's idea that the band are just normal people that perform music.

Back Cover of "Hot Fuss"

The back of album cover is in keeping with the front - the background of the blue sky, and the fonts and colour scheme also seen on the front. The song listing of the album is in a small white font in the top left hand corner. The reason as to why it is so small could be that the band are hinting to many more songs released from the band in the future, therefore leaving the audience wanting more. Seen at the bottom of the back cover is the specifications of the album, such as recording studios and the record label's details - these are always written in a small font, as the audience are not particularly interested in them, but they have to be included for lawful reasons. There is a white version of the logo that The Killers belong to, Lizard King/Vertigo Island, on the left of that writing - any of the audience would instantly recognise the record label that the band belong to. This is all part of The Killers creating a band identity, which is especially important when releasing their debut album, as the band carry on the brand identity created when releasing "Hot Fuss" onto their further releases in the future.

Front Cover for The Killer's second album, "Sam's Town"

The most prominent thing on the front cover of "Sam's Town" is once again the band name - the font and size is exactly the same as their previous release "Hot Fuss", albeit in a different colour, therefore The Killers are being consistent with their brand identity. Once again, the name of the album is placed below "The Killers", but this time it is a different font and font colour - the name of the album doesn't have to be as consistent as the band logo. This is because the band's name always stays the same, whereas the albums always differ. Also on the front cover of the album is a picture of a mountain goat, a woman with a banner titled "miss" around her, and what looks like a worn down trailer behind them, all presented through a long shot. The woman may be "Sam", the person that The Killers have named the album after - these pictures in the front cover give the audience an idea of why the band called the album "Sam's Town".

Back Cover of "Sam's Town", released in 2006

This is the back cover, and the audience can see a black and white filter, also apparent on the front of the album, medium-shot of the entire band. The reason as to why the band are shot this, which is very similar to the images seen on the front of the album cover, is because it conveys to the audience that The Killers are part of "Sam's Town". Seen at the bottom of the cover is the song listings - these are displayed to us in small red and white fonts, with the red colour similar to that shown to display the name "Sam's Town" on the front cover. Below the song listings are the usual specifications of the albums, along with the record label's logo in white. Everything seen in this album cover conforms to the Indie-rock genre my chosen band is in, and I could use similar ideas in my digipak.


Seen here is the CD for The Killers sophomore album, "Sam's Town". The image on the CD is a black and white, keeping consistency with the rest of the digipak, close up shot of a mountain goat, which could be the one seen on the front cover of the album. Further specifications are seen around the CD, written in white font - it could be written in white font because the audience aren't interested in the specifications, but they have to be included for lawful reasons. The white font blends into the black and white background, therefore making it hard to read.

Front Cover of the album "Day & Age"

This is the front cover of the album "Day & Age", the third album from The Killers, released in 2008. In this album, The Killers moved away from their Indie-rock roots and explored the Dance-rock genre. This change in style can be seen from the colours used on the front cover - they are vibrant colours of purple, blue and yellow, which represent those shown from dance artists. When comparing the colours used in this album cover with those in previous releases, you straight away get the feeling that the band are attempting to change their style. I say this because in their previous two albums, The Killers used grungy colours that would represent the Indie genre, and vibrant colours like purple wouldn't be seen. However, the layout of the front cover has been kept the same in this album as it was in the previous two - "The Killers" band logo is once again situated in the centre, in a shade of purple (which proves the change in musical style, as this colour wouldn't usually be seen in Indie digipaks), with the same of the album, "Day & Age" in a smaller white font underneath it. Even with the change in musical styles, it is imperative that The Killers don't change their band identity - their logo is instantly recognisable to their fans and audiences alike, all through the consistent brand identity created in their earlier albums.

Back Cover for the album "Day & Age"

The back of the album cover is once again consistent with the front, with the vibrant colours seen on the front also apparent on the back. The same white font used on the front cover for the album title, "Day & Age", is also used to list the songs that can be heard on the album -this is seen throughout all The Killers albums, with their previous efforts "Hot Fuss" and "Sam's Town" doing the same thing. At the bottom of the sleeve are the specifications, written in small white font, and the logo of the record label, Island Records, is also seen.

CD Print for "Day & Age", released in 2008

This is the CD of the digipak from The Killers third studio album, "Day & Age". The print of the CD is that shown on the front and back cover of the album art, which was a mosaic pattern in different shades of blue and purple, to represent their change in musical style. This is apparent on the CD and, much like their previous release "Sam's Town", is in keeping with the theme of the digipak. This CD print goes with the rest of the digipak, making the audience recognise who the CD belongs to, and what album the CD is from. The light purple and blue mosaic is printed on top of a black background, which makes the colours even more prominent. Seen going around the rim are the specifications, similar to those seen on the back of the album cover. They are written in a very small white font, almost unreadable, and support the Island Records logo. For my digipak I will include a print on the CD that is relevant with the rest of the digipak, as demonstrated by The Killers in "Hot Fuss", "Sam's Town" and "Day & Age".

The Killers most recent release, "Battle Born"

After a four year hiatus, since their change in musical style in 2008's release "Day & Age", The Killers returned in 2012 with their most recent and fourth studio album, "Battle Born". "The Killers" famous logo, like all their other releases, is the most prominent thing on the album cover, as it is centered in the middle of the cover - even after four years without an album, The Killers still keep their brand identity with the styling of their logo on this album. "Battle Born", the name of the album, is once again located directly underneath the band's logo. "Battle Born" is stylised in a bold, black font - the "e" in Battle Born is presented a lightening bolt; this could signify the return to the band's Indie-rock roots, as the delivery of the album title on the front cover is striking. Image shown further solidifies the claim that The Killers are returning to their Indie-rock roots demonstrated in their first two albums. There is a long shot of a highway, with a car looking like it is going head-first into a horse - the horse could be a metaphor for The Killers, and could signify that they are ready for anything that comes their way, hence the relevance of the title "Battle Born". The dull setting of the picture could possibly signify the dark road that the band went on during their hiatus, but now they are ready for anything.

Back of the album cover

Seen on the back of the album cover is the track list of "Battle Born". The songs listed are seen in red, but in the same font that was used on the front cover for the album title - as you can see, The Killers have done this with every studio album they have released, therefore being consistent and in keeping with their brand identity as a band. The image seen behind the track list is set in the same area that the image on the front was set in. At the bottom of the back of the album cover are the specifications, with the record label's, Island Records, logo all in red. In my digipak, I should use the same font for my track list on the back and my album title on the front, in order to keep a consistent brand identity - this is especially important with a debut album, as it sets the standards for later albums.

CD Print for The Killers album, "Battle Born"

This is the CD print for The Killers fourth studio album, "Battle Born". A constant theme throughout The Killers' discography, the CD print is something relevant with the rest of the digipak. The print is most likely an extreme close up shot of the headlight from the car in the album front cover. The top half of the CD has "The Killers" written in capitals letters in a dark red font, making it almost unreadable against the image. The bottom half has the album title "Battle Born", in the same font, size and colour. This makes the audience recognise the physical CD straight away, once again solidifying The Killers brand image. Written around the rim, in white font, are the same specifications seen on the back of the album cover, along with the record label's logo.



I have learnt that, in order to keep brand identity consistent, I must include relevant pictures in my digipak - an example of this is the CD image of "Sam's Town", as the goat seen on the CD print also appears on the front of the album cover. Also, I will use the same fonts apparent on the front of my album cover to present my track list on the back. I believe that if I include these things in my digipak, I will create a consistent brand identity for my chosen band.